LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Authorities say a Kentucky teenager known as a jokester was strangled by a dog lead he put around his neck while playing with friends at the start of summer vacation.

Estill County Coroner Tony Murphy said Monday that 16-year-old Tony Conley died near his home in eastern Kentucky when he apparently jumped off an outdoor deck staircase and the dog lead tightened around his neck. He called it a freak accident and a terrible tragedy.

Murphy says friends tried but were unable to cut the metal cable and Conley was pronounced dead at the scene Friday evening.

Conley had just finished his freshman year at Estill County High School hours before his death.